Switch



March 10, 1931. M. H. RHODES SWITCH Filed Nov. 21. 1929 r 4 Sheets-Sheetl March 10, 1931. RHQDES 1,795,969

SWITCH Fi' ed Nov. 21, 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 March 10, 1931. M. H.RHODES SWITCH Filed Nov, 21. 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Ill March 10, 1931.M, H, RHODES 1,795,969

SWITCH Filed Nov. 21, 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Mar. 10, 1931UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MARCUS H. RHODES, OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT,ASSIGNOR TO M. H. RHODES, INC., OF WILMINGTON, DELAWARE, A CORPORATIONOF DELAWARE SWITCH Application filed November21, 1929. Serial No.408,807.

This invention relates to electric switches, and with regard to certainmore specific features, to timed, delayed action switches.

Among the several objects of the invention may be noted the provision ofan electric switch having improved means for effecting a higher speed ofcircuit making and breaking; the provision of a switch having a delayedaction subsequent to actuation thereof; the provision of a switch of theclass described which may have the timed delay feature temporarilythrown out of operation to permit non-delay action; and the provision ofa switch of the class described .in the following claims.

In the accompanying drawings, in whichare illustrated several of thevarious possible embodiments of the invention.

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a switch embodying the invention, the samebeing shown as set for time delayed, circuit breaking action; Fig. 2 is'a vertical, longitudinal section taken on line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a vertical, longitudinal section taken on line 3'3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a detailed plan view of a latch lever;

Fig. 5 is a developed view showing a gear train and connected parts, thedevelopment being defined and taken along line .55 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a view corresponding to F 3, except that the parts are shown.1n their opposite extreme position;

Fig. 7 is a vertical section taken longitudinally of the switch on line7-7 of Fig. 1, showing certain details;

Fig. 8 is a cross-section taken on line 88 of Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is a cross-section taken on line 99 of Fig. 1, certain partshaving been removed for purposes of clarity;

Figs. 10 and 11 are side elevations showing details of certainratcheting elements of the invention; and,

Fig. 12 is a detailed side elevation showing an escapement and balancewheel.

Similar reference characters indicate corresponding -parts throughoutthe several views of the drawings.

Referring now more particularly to Fig. 1, there is illustrated atnumeral 10 a cover plate fastened down by two cover plate screws 53 to alower U-shaped plate 1 (see Fig. 9 for the U-shape of 'plate 1). The

cover plate 10 is provided with openings 56 and 57 the former foraccommodating an oscillatory timing control handle or lever 8 and thelatter for accommodating an oscillatory switching or circuit controllever 3, both levers extending outwardly through the openings 56, 57from the inside of the switch. The function of the switching lever 3 isto make and break the circuit and also to be manipulated or actuated forvarying the time of current flow after the switch lever 3 has been setto 01f position; and the purpose of the time lever 8 is to set theswitch either for timed or non-timed operation. Next to the opening 56isprovided another opening 58 for displaying one portion of theperiphery of a time indicator wheel 35, also located within the. switch.

The cover plate screws 53 hold the cover 10 to said U-plate 1 (see Fig.2) and U-plate screws 51 hold the said U-plate 1 to a porcelain 'box 25(see Fig. The box 25 forms an insulating housing for the switch parts.Pole pieces or line terminals 5 and 6 are supported therein, said piecescarrying contact screws 50 for fastening line wires or the like.

Stationary knife bla de extensions 59 and 60 depend from the Poles 5 and6 respectively for engagement by and with pairs of spring contactors orterminal engaging elements 11,

said contactors 11 being formed with a connecting bar 61, the latterbeing pivoted on a pin 29. The pin 29 is fastened in the switch box. s

' It will be recognized that when the contactor 11, 61 is in the ositionshown in Fig. 3 that it is in circuit c osing position with re spect tothe poles 5, 6. When the contactor is'moved to the left (Fig. 6) thecircuit is open, because the cont-actors 11 disengage from the blades59, 60. In order to facilitate contacting, the extensions 59, 60 aresomewhat sharpened as indicated at numeral 63 for ready engagement withflared ears 64 of the pairs of spring contactors 11. Operation of thecontactors 11 is effected by forming an opening 65, in a block 24. Theblock 24 is fastened to thecontactor part 11, 61-. Coordinating with andwithin this opening 65 is a depending tongue 66 of a switch hammer 4,said hammer 4 being adapted to swing on gudgeons 67. It will be notedthat the switch hammer can swing freely through a substantial are beforestriking the sides of the opening 65, thus providing a lost-motionengagement. Inspection of Figs. 3 and 6 shows how' the upper corners oftheopening 65 are relieved, as indicated at numeral '62 for the purposeof permitting some continued movement of the switch hammer after it hasopened and closed theswitch; This function so places the switch hammerthat the switch blade itself is locked in either its closed position.

The switch hammer 4 is'provided with a spring-seating extension 68 forreceiving a switch spring 45, the spring being shown in Figs. 3, 6 and9. The spring extends upopen or .wardly and seats against the lower end69 I a no other mechanism to prevent it. For example, in Fig. 3 thespring is in compressed reacting position for throwing the switch hammersharply in a clockwise direction to the left, whereupon the tongue 66will gain momentum in passing through its lost-motion path inthe opening65. Then-the tongue .66 will strike the left hand end of the open-1 ingwith a sharp blow and instantly throw the contactors 11 out ofengagement with the extension of the poles 5, 6. It should however, benoted that another part of the mechf anism, which will be described,normally prevents this action' from the Fig. 3 position until apredetermined release is effected. These features will be describedhereinafter.

Continuing the reference to the toggle action, it will be seen that 'ifthe switch' lever is thrown to its opposite, right hand extreme (Fig.6), then the point 93 will pass over said center line CL. This passageover the center line throws the spring reaction into an overcenteringrelationship, such that the switch hammer is suddenly forced" to assumea counter-clockwise movement.- The tongue 66 travels with loss of motionin the reverse direction through the opening 65 and strikes the righthand thereof with a sudden blow; thereby quickly snapping the switchshut, the contactors 11 moving to the right into engagement withextensions of the poles 5., 6.

It is to be noted that when the switch lever 3 is thrown for closing theswitch, that the switch closes immediately, there being no delayingaction in the mechanism such as will be explained in connection withopening the switch from the closed position.

As stated-above,'it will be noted that Fig.3 shows the toggle linkage insuch position that the spring is compressed and'over-centered and readyto throw the switch hammer so asto open the switch, but there is atemporary mechanibal restraint which will now be described. v v

The parts above described are in partment of the box 25. Thiscompartment is defined by the right side of the box (Fig. 9), part ofthe bottom thereof, and one side '70 of the U-plate 1' (see the righthand portion of Fig. 9). The other compartment isdefined by the leftwall of the box 25 (Fig. 9)

the remainder of the bottom of the box. A

.flat plate 2, by means of plate spacers 26, is 'spacedly mounted withrespect to onewall 70 of the U plate 1 see Fig. 2 and Fig. 9)? An onecomarcuate opening 1 in the wall 70 of the U- plate 1 accommodates anextension ear. 72 of the switch hammer 4. The function of this extensionis to be held and released for time delaying purposes. The coordinatinglatching apparatus therefor will be described hereinafter.

Pivoted to the switch lever 3 by means of an arm 37 is a pawl I whichhas an .ear 7 3 provided for fastening a pawl spring 46 whichspringreacts from theswitch pin 221 to hold an oppositely extending ear 74 inengagement with the teeth of a ratchet wheel 18 located iii said lefthand compartment (see Figs. 7 and 9). The car 74 which reaches throughan opening 71-A in the plate 70, is pressed into engagement with theteeth of said ratchet 18 whenever the lever 3 is thrown into its onposition and in the off position of the lever3 said pawl ear'74'is drawnup against the side of the 71-18. (as illustrated in Figs. 2 and so asto permit clearing-0f the ratchet teeth by the ear 74 when it is desiredto return the ratchet teeth according to the functions hereinafter setout. As will be made clear, the advance tooth-every time the to .onposition. In

of the ratchet is one switch lever is thrown other words, when the lever3 moves from off to on position, the pawl 74 rides down the left face ofthe opening 71A, and engages a tooth such as X (Fig. 2) for advancementthrough an arc corresponding to the are occupied by one ratchet tooth.The switch lever may be serially or repeatedly operated to advance theratchet step by step.

The ratchet 18 (Figs. 7 and 9) is integrally movable With a main springhub 30 and also with a main spring pawl wheel 13, so that the ratchet18, hub 30 and main spring pawl 13 may turn together. On the other hand,there is provided a main gear wheel 19 which is relatively rotatablewith respect to said parts 13, 18, 30.

A detail plan of the gear Wheel 19 is shown in Fig. 11 and a detail planof the main springpawl 13 is shown in Fig, 10. The Figs. 10 and 11 showthatthe gear 19 is provided with openings 76 which are matched bydetents 77 of pawl 13, a plurality of which detents are used. Thedetents 7 7 are formed in such a direction and engage said gear openings76 in such a manner that when the operation of lever 3 results inmovement of the ratchet 18, return of said ratchet under action ofspring 44 is prevented by the engagement of the detents 77 with certainof the gear wheel openings 76. The gear wheel resists return action ofthe ratchet 18 caused by the initially provided tension in the mainspring 44, because the gear train into which it is connected is at thistime locked agalnst movement.

The timing gear train referred to in the paragraph above is shown moreparticularly in Fig. 5 where in the gear 19 is shown as meshing with apinion 21. Said pinion 21 1s integrally rotatable with agear 20 whichmeshes with a second. pinion 32. A second gear wheel 20 A is integrallymovablewith the pinion 32 and meshes with a third punch 33 the latterbeing'made fast with a third gear wheel 20B. This last wheel 20-13 hasits teeth sojcut that it comprises an escape wheel which meshes with aslotted portion 22 ofabalance staff. The staff 22 is integrally movablewith balance wheel 14. Vibration of the balance wheel 14 is effected bymeans of a hair spring 80. A balance-wheel stop pm 79 permits theeseapement wheel 20I 3 to drive the balance wheel only a predetermineddistance. The action ,(Fig. 12) issuch that as the escapement wheel 20Bdelivers energy to the balance staff 78 one tooth of the same fits intothe groove 22 and revolves the balance staif 78. The hair springattached to the shaft is flexed by this rotation. At a predeterminedpoint in the rotation of the staff ,7 8 the said tooth of the wheel 20Bslips out of the slot 22. The hair spring 80 then reverses the rotationof the staff 78. Instantly the second or next tooth on the gear ,20Bstrikes against the smooth side of the balance staff 78 and remains at apressure position until the hair spring again rotates the balanced staff78 back to a position where the second or next tootlris permitted todrop into the slot and ride by as the slot returns to repeat the cycle.It will be noted in this connection that this escapement has no palletor anchor escapement means requiring complicated and delicate members.

It will be apparent from the above that the escapement will permit thegear train to run down under action of the main spring 44 only at apredetermined rate. It has also been made clear above that when theswitch handle 3 is operated to its on position that the ratchet 18 ispicked up by the pawl 74 to be moved through the angle subtended by onepawl tooth. This means that the main spring pawl 13 is moved the sameangle and it is desirable at this time that the gear train be locked. Inorder to accomplish locking or braking there is held near the escapementa fiexor 82 which is normally pressed into engagement with the staff 78.Thus the staff 78 is locked, this also looking the gear trains.

It is clear that under these conditions the ratchetv 18 can be operatedwith the main spring pawl 13 without effecting gear train movement, thatis to say, the lever 3 may be thrown from off to on position withouteffecting gear train movement, the pawl. piece 13 ratcheting in theopenings 7 6 of the main gear 19.

On the other hand, when the switch handle 3 is thrown from on to offposition it is desirable, for reasons which will be stated, that theescapement be released so that the gear train may run down apredetermined amount. In order to accomplish this, there is provided aleg 39 see Fig. 3) of said flexor 82 (Fig. 7) which is adapted to beengagedby an extending portion 83 on the switch handle which depressesthe flexor 82 to a position in which it is spaced from the staff 7 8.

In this position no braking action is effected 1 and the gear train isreleased for action.

Under these conditions the escapement may vibrate and permit the geartrain to run down. Thus the flexor acts to prevent the escapement fromoperating until the switch lever has been returned torest at its offposition. Otherwise the escapement'would operate to permit running downof the time delay mechanism while the switch lever rested at the onposition. flexor is provided with an offset 39 reaching through anopening (Fig. 7) in the plate 70 for reacting contact with the switchlever 3.

The ratchet 18 has ten thirty degree teeth and one sixty degree tooth.The gear 19 has 12 openings corresponding, to twelve an,

gular divisions, so that each time a single movement from off to on ofthe switch handle 3 is effected, there will be normally an Fig. 7 showshow the advance of thirty degrees of the ratchet and .main spring pawl13, the pawl duringadvance strokes moving its detents from one openingto the next successive opening in gear 19. The gear at this time doesnot move for the reasons given above.

The main spring awl 13 is also provided with a lug 84, which as theswitch handle '3 is moved to on position is retracted in aclockwisedirection (Figs. 2 and through position against the compressiveaction ofthe spring 45. This mechanism will now be described: 9

Said mechanism comprises a latch cam 9 pivoted at 85. This cam has anextension 86 (Figs. 2, 4 and 7) having'a claw 87 which is adapted tohook in under the ear 72 when said ear by actuation of the switch lever3 to its oif position, is thrown into" its Fig. 2 position. A slopingface .88 on the claw permits the car 72 to thrust it aside against thereaction of a leaf spring 12.

A time lever spring 47 reaches from a lug 89 to one arm 90 of a bellcrank lever 91 in connection with which is the time lever 8 extending tothe outside of the switch. The reaction points of the time lever spring47 are so arranged that when the time lever 8 is thrown to its extremepositions, on and off, there is an over-centering action, one way or theother.

There is provided on the bell crank 91 a second extension 101 adapted toengage with an extension lug 103 located on said latch cam 9. Thiscooperation takes place against the action of sald spring 12. Atthe'time when the hell crank lever 91 is in its Fig. 7 position, thatis, in its olf position, that the latch cam'9 is prevented fromcooperaten the time lever 8 is in its on position (Fig. 2) the latch cam9 is ready to lock the ear 72 back, whenever the switch lever 3 isthrown into fon position to throw the hammer 4 to theright as shown inFig. 3.

Whenever the time lever is in its off osition there will be no latching(locking? action by the latch cam, and throwing of the switch lever 3from on to off position results in immediately breaking the circuitinstead of a delayed breaking being efiected. It will be noted that thebell crank lever 91 for the time lever 8 is rotatably mounted on the hubmember 30 (see Fig. 9). There is an advantage in having the spring 47perform 65 the over-centering and full stroking action on lever 8 and inhaving the spring 12 perform the distinct action of pressing the latchcam into holding engagement. In a prior form of this switch I havecaused a s ring, corresponding to sprin 47, to per orm both of thesefunctions. T e advantage in the present method lies in the fact that thespring 12 may be made as light as is required for perfect action by thelug 72, and the spring 47 may be made as heavy as desired withouteffecting the unlatching action of lug 72. A

reasonably heavy spring 47 is desirable in order that a definiteover-centering action That is to say, the pawl 13 moves through equaldistances from its retracted position, and opening action of the switch(as the tim ing train runs down) is delayed proportionally to the timethat it takes the pawl 13 to reach the latch cam 9. However, theinterval caused by the first throw of switch lever 3 is that one inwhich the pawl 13 is immediatev ly approachingthe sloping face 88 of thelatchcam 9. Inasmuch as this face slopes outwardly to the pawl 13 thelast interval of time is shortened, because the latch cam 9 will releasethe ear 72 before the pawl 13 is moved through the full thirty degreearc.

The advantage .of this is that if itis desired 7 to throw the switch tooff position and merely walk out. of the room or the like, the firstdelayed action will be relatively short. If it is desired to set theswitch for a longer time such as until a reader falls asleep or'thelike, then the switch lever 3may be operatedtwo or more times andajpropore Y tionately longer time delay will beeflected.

In-Figs. 7 and 10, it will be noted, that one of the teeth of theratchet subtends twice the amount of are that the others do. The.

reason for this-is that if the switch handle 3 is operated eleven .timesto set the switch for maximum time delay,it is undesirable. that anoperator be permitted tocontinue abnormally winding up the device by '0erating the switch handle 3. The long toot Y prejvents this, because theactuating stroke of the lug 74 is not great enough to catch back on thenext tooth. Thus, the device is fool-proof.

The operation is as follows:

Assuming that the switch lever 3 and the time lever 8 are'both in ofipositions, an operator may then throw the switch lever 3 to an onposition and effect an. instanta-' neous closure of theswitch or. toanoff pol pawl 13 as said t 'sition again, with immediate andinstantaneous operation, that is, it operates not unlike the ordinarytoggle switch. The reason for this is that when the time lever 8 is inoil position (to the right Fig. 7 then the time lever spring 47 is overcentered so that the latch cam 9 is engaged by the lug 101 and is movedcounter-clockwise and does not latch the car 72. Even under this mode ofoperation, however, the present switch has novelty, in that thelost-motion engagement between the hammer 4 and the oscillatingcontactor 24 results in an exceedingly quick making and breaking of thecircuit. The introduction of a pivoted or rocking type of contactor isadvantageous over the sliding type in that wear 1s reduced and ease ofoperation enhanced.

Whenever it is desirable to operate the switch with the time-delayfeature, it is only necessary to throw the time lever 8 to its onposition (see Figs. 1 and 2). This results in the time lever spring 47being over centered so as to cause the latch cam 9 to be forcedclockwise by the spring 12, so that upon subsequently throwing theswitch lever 33 to an off position the ear 72 will spring behind theclaw 87 and be caught and so that upon subsequently turning the switchlever 33 to an on position the ear72 will be held and hence the hammer 4will also be held. Subsequently upon throwing of the switch handle 3 toan off position the toggle linkage shown in Fig. 3 will be held incircuit closing position until the gear train runs down under action ofthe main spring 44 and the control of the escapement mechanism. It willbe appreciated that the movement of the switch handle 3 to on positionresulted in the lug 74 moving the ratchet up one step and that at thesame time the ear train was locked by the interfering action of thereleased fiexor 82 on the escapement staff, said flexor having beenreleased to permit interference by moving the switch handle 3 part 83 toonposition. The return of the switch handle 3 to off position removesthe interference of the flexor 82 from the escapement mechanism andpermits the gear train to run down and the pawl 13 to return so as toeffect movement of-the latch cam 9 to release the ear 72, whereupon theovercentered compressed spring 45 snaps to move the contactor 24 andopen the circuit.

As above described, for one cyclic move ment of the switch handle 3 fromofi to on to 01f positions results in a comparatively short time delay,because of the advanced contact with the pawl 13 efiected by the slopingsurface 88 of the cam 9. It will be noted that when the switch lever 3is thrown on, that the main spring pawl member 13 rides over the thenlocked main gear 19 (gear 19 is in the then locked train) and thedetents 77 catch in the next set of openings of the main gear forsubsequentreturn therewith. The ratchet wheel 18 can return because whenthe switch lever 3 is in off position the lug 74 had ridden up the facepf tslaid opening 71 so as to clear the ratchet If greater optimum timedelay is desired, the operator after having set the time lever 8 to onposition strokes the switch lever 3 to on position enough times toprovide the total amount of time delay desired. For instance, the firststroke may provide a time delay of only one-half minute or so, due tothe action ofthe face 88. Thereafter each stroke cumulatively adds timedelay in proportion to the number of strokes efiected. For instance,five minutes may be added per stroke, if each ratchet tooth provides areenough that it takes the pawl five minutes to traverse the same with theparticular escape ment and gear train used.

One of the features of this cumulative action is that after the switchhas once been turned on, subsequent stroking of the switch lever 3 doesnot result in the circuit being reopened, because it is locked shut(Figs. 2 and 3) by the latch cam 9 on the first stroke. The circuit isready to spring open under ac tion of the desired toggle linkage,whenever the switch handle 3 is turned off and the fiexor 12 is releasedto permit running down of the escapement and gear train. The lug 84 thenreturns to effect opening of theswitch at a predetermined time bythrowing aside the latch cam 9.

Whenever it is desired to temporarily return to non-delay action thismay be done by setting the time lever 8 to ofi' position, before, afteror during operation of the handle 3.

'For the convenience of an operator, there is provided on the end of theshaft 30 which is fixed to the ratchet, a time indicator wheel 35 whichmay be viewed at its periphery through the opening 58 ot' the cover 10,refcrred to in connection with Fig. l. The pcriphery of this indicatorwheel is provided with suitable indicia representing the time that itwill take for the switch to run down to an off position. Clearly, theindicia advance into registry with the opening 58 as the ratchet isadvanced under the manipulation of the switch lever 3 to on and offpositions. As the gear train runs down prior to automatically turningthe switch off the time indicator wheel returns with'it to zeroindication. The last increment of scale reading near zero on theindicator is shorter than the others, because of the shorter incrementof time consumed for traversing the spare effected by the first switchactuation, already described.

,It is to be understood that the switch described is for application tocircuits which are adapted to be turned 011' after a time delay. Itis'perfectly clear that the time may on-it because of the gear reductionfrom the escapement to the main gear. The light frictional action of thespring 82on the staff/T8 is enough to lock the gear train against/thefrictional action between the pawl 13 and gear wheel 19. This is truebecause of the mechanical advantage existing between the stafl on onehand and the said wheel 19 on the other hand, this advantage beingeffected by the described gear train. ,By separating the actions ofsprings 47 and 12, the releasing function on the latch cam 9 is renderedmore sensitive without making the action of the time lever 82 toosensitive. The escapement mechanism cannot dead center, because there isalways a tooth ready on the wheel 20-B for effecting a driving action onthe escapement; or if a tooth has just escaped from the slot of theescapement and the next tooth has been blocked by contact with thesurface of the escapement staff then dead centering cannot occur becausethe balance spring is flexed and ready to drive the staff back to permitpassage of another gear tooth. It willbe noted that the switch is freeof any escapement pallets or like weak or intricate members.

Another advantage is that the timing mechanism can be made small anddoes not add,

much volume to the switch. This is because it does not operate theswitch but merely con; trols it. The main spring 44 which stores energyfrom the manual operation of the operator does not receive its energythrough the t1m1ng gears.

Another advantage is that the electrical elements per se are in aseparate and isolated chamber and that the escapement mechanism is inanother chamber, all elements being enclosed in porcelain. HencethesWitch is fireproof.

It is to be understood that the timing mechanism need not bewound upfrom time to time because, at the time of manufacture," initial tensionis put into the main spring and actuation of the switch lever merelywinds it up tighter after which it again runs down when delayed actionis effected. The

spring dition.

It will be seen that if an operator should have the time lever in onposition and seruns down to its initial tension con rially operate theswitch lever that he could athe switch will immedately open.

leave said switch lever in the on position and the lights or thelikecontrolled from said position would continue burning without thetime delay period being reduced, unless the switch handle were turnedofi. When the switch handle is turned off the time delay periods startto become reduced as the gear train runs down to approach a point wherethe pawl 13 will trip out the latch cam 9, thus permitting the togglecircuit opening action.

It will be clear that if an operator should set the switch for anextended delayed action and change his mind and desire to open thecircuit immediately, this could readily be done b moving the itime leverto ofif posi-. tion. his (see Fig. 2) results in'tripping the latch cam9 and freeing the lug 72 so that upon setting the switch lever 3 to openposition, if it is not already in such position, If the switch lever isin ofi' position when the time lever 8 is moved to ofl? position theswitch "immediately breaks the circuit.

Opening of the circuit by setting the time lever to 011' position whilethe switch lever is in off position does not aflfect the operation ofthe timing train. Hence, if the time delay had been set for one-halfhour and thenthe switch immediately opened by setting both time andswitch levers to off positions, the timing train would have continued torun while the circuit was open (for instance, after the lights were out)then, if fifteen minutes later the switch were again turned on by meansof the switch lever there would still remain fifteen minutes of timedelay action available. However, an operator would be aware of thisbecause the indicator 35 would show it.

It will be noted that after the time lever 8 has been snapped to offposition, thereby eliminating the time delay operation, still the switchlever 3 operates the time movement, thus preventing the movement frombecoming frozen or gummed with oil, dust and lint or the like, andcausing it more likely to remain in operable condition.

Likewise, should; the gear train freeze with foreign material, anoperation of lever 3 would build up force in the main spring 44 toeventually force the freeze. It will further be noted'that uponoperation of the switch once per day, the operator would, unconsciously,add force which in the end would probably break the freeze, so that theop erator finding the switch apparently outof order might find it backin orderjafter a few I reciprocations of lever 3. 1 In view'of theabove, it will be seen that, the several objects of the invention areachieved and other a'dantageous results. attained.

As many changes could be made in carrying out'the above constructionswithout de-/ parting from the scope of the invention, it

intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown inthe accompany- 7 ing drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative andnot in a limiting sense.

I claim: 7 r

1. In a switch, a switch handle, means fo efl'ecting delayed action bysaid switch'handle, including an escapement, a staff included in saidescapement, a resilient braking member engaging andnormally preventingoperation of said staff, said resilient braking member being engaged bysaid switch handle to release the stafi for escapement operation whensaid switch handle is in circuit opening position.

2. In a time delay switch circuit making and breaking means, a switchlever for operating said means, a latch for temporarily holding thecircuit making and breaking n means in a predetermined position, a latchreleasing means adapted to be retracted from the latch a distance whichis a function of the number of times the switch lever isoperated, atiming mechanism adapted to return the nlatch releasing means to movethe latch whereby the latter releases the switching means, a timinglever, means associated with the timing lever for rendering the latchineffestive at one position of the lever but ef- 30 fective at another,an over-centering spring reacting to efii'ect full-stroke of the timingle-' ver and a separate spring reacting against the latch to normallyset it in holding position, said last-named spring operatingindependently of said first-named spring.

3. In a switch, timing means, a latch operative with said timing means,a timing lever adapted to set said latch in a non-holding position whenthe lever is at one extreme and in a holding position when the lever isat its other extreme, an over-centering spring adapted to force thelever completely to one position or another and a separate springnormally pressing the latch into engagement with at least one element ofsaid timing means.

4. In a switch, timing means, a latch operative with said timing means,a timing lever adapted to set said latch in a non-holding po- 5U sitionwhen the lever is at one extreme and in a holding position when thelever is. at its other extreme, means adapted to hold the levercompletely at one position or another, and separate means normallypressing the latch a.- into engagement with at least one element of saidtiming means.

In testimony whereof, 'I have signed my name to this specification this14th day of November, 1929.

UU MARCUS H. RHODES.

